Tuesday, March 18, 2008

After years as a travel deals publisher, Daily Mail-owned Teletext will effectively become a tour operator cum travel agency cum media portal through ThisIsTravel.

All things to all people, perhaps.

What this actually shows is a distinct move towards a more consumer-led, all-round effort to reach – and, most importantly, fulfil – a wider marketplace.

Previous fulfilment partner OTC’s loss is Traveltek’s gain, in many respects, as the Glasgow-based travel technology firm will provide all back-end systems for the new ThisIsTravel platform.

We have said for quite a while that the traditional media houses in the UK are the sleeping giants of online travel.

This is not hyperbole. There is nothing to stop the media companies from attempting to provide a fuller service when it comes to travel deals.

Now this does not automatically mean that the Guardian, Times, Telegraph et al will suddenly start becoming OTAs or tour operators but a slow shift in how potentially they may start to think they can serve their customers better.